As a blanket of snow settled outside of Spring Street dining hall on Jan. 31, students sat eagerly around a central performing setup of speakers, mics, guitars, and amps. Dressed in formal clothing, they listened to their peers perform for the Jazz Cafe. The event was developed by Kyle Kennedy’s, current co-secretary of the Student Council. Kennedy’s explained the inspiration behind the initiative as such:“Jazz Cafe as an idea for an event sprung up from the fact that we were going to have a new dining hall. We wanted to have Jazz Cafe as a means to appreciate and utilize the new dining hall space. I wanted to have it as a way to honor and celebrate the opening.” However, that dream was only possible because of some major effort and planning from the Student Council and dining hall.
Kennedys’s efforts were central to the preparation and execution of the Jazz Cafe. He began planning the event in early December, first creating a Google form to collect volunteers for set-up and clean-up. In January, he began working alongside Lauren Lee, fellow Student Council Co-secretary, as well as the rest of the Student Council executive board to finalize the details of the event.
When they ran into an issue regarding instrument supplement for the event, members of the executive board were split on how to approach the situation. The music department felt that they did not have enough time to organize, and that the request for instruments was in a way “late notice.”
Lee and president Cam Khater wanted to postpone the event to have ample time for preparation, while Kennedy’s and vice president Anna Holtz strongly advocated for the continuation of the original plan. Kennedy’s reflected on his perspective: “I wanted the show to go on. I wanted Jazz Cafe to happen in the time that we planned, even if it wasn’t the grand vision that we originally had. I thought at the time, and I still think now, since we’ve already had the event, that that was the best decision that we could have made.”
In curating the setlist, Kennedy’s showed the same drive and ambition — he was very deliberate in the order and selection of performances. “I was careful to make sure that bands weren’t going one after the other. I was trying to have a mix of different instruments.” Kennedy’s continued, “But I didn’t want it to be limited. I wanted students to feel encouraged to sign up to perform. I wasn’t limited in what genre people could perform. So maybe we would have a traditional jazz piece, then a more modern piece, then a contemporary piece after that.”
During set up, Kennedy’s faced another challenge in preparing the sound equipment and instruments, delaying the start of the performance by roughly 20 minutes. He reflected, “I hadn’t anticipated [the delay]…I’m glad people weren’t too hostile about it. They weren’t too negative about it.”
Despite the many trials encountered in preparation for the Jazz Cafe, the event was generally received as a success. “In terms of execution, I’m really happy about how dining services, student activities, Ms. McGeeney especially and our student council advisors were able to come through and help,” Kennedy’s highlighted. “The adults were really helpful in planning student activities and educating student activities. They were there with me for the setup.”
Many audience members enjoyed the atmosphere of the Jazz Cafe. Upper Olivia Pierre emphasized how the decisions for the event to take place in thenew dining hall contributed to the vibe: “Having [the event] in the new dining hall gave it a lot more openness…It felt more airy and free.”
Lower Euphoria Yang praised the set up: “I like the way it was set up, more of a stage and everyone at their tables.”
Senior Ben Soriano brought up another unique aspect of Jazz Cafe that he appreciated: the attire.
To further foster that welcoming and positive environment, Kennedy’s gave performers a brief introduction that would hype up the audience. “I’m glad it worked. I’m glad people were able to perform,” he reflected.
Yang, performer and audience member, noted, “It was very chill. People were talking with their friends and the jazz musicians essentially created background music. When the songs were really good, people would be singing along and swaying.”
Lower Madelyn Anglin, who performed alongside Yang, added, “The audience was very respectful. They clapped and cheered after every performance. I thought it was nice that some people sang along to the songs that they knew. Everyone seemed like they were having a fun time.”
Pierre described her experience at Jazz Cafe as an audience member who stayed through the entire event:“ I think the entire event was just amazing. Especially with the snow falling outside, it was all very pretty and everybody sounded so amazing. It was nice to get dressed up, and the event had a very cozy atmosphere. I’m also just a really big fan of live performances.”
She detailed two of her favorite performances:, “I really enjoyed Kyle’s band, who sang “Just the Two of Us”, and The Cover Girlz, who did “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” “Baby It’s Cold Outside” was also really good. The song was also really fitting since it was snowing outside, which was very pretty.”
Soriano, another audience member, added, “The music was just good. The vibes were good. People showed out, people actually dressed up, and the food was great. I think the actual acoustics and logistic things could have been a little bit smoother, but overall, as far as an event goes for something that Student Council has never really done before, I think it was very successful.”
The sentiment highlighted by Soriano is an important one - that this is the Student Council’s first year running Jazz Cafe. In fact, this was the Student Council’s first time running an entirely student-run music event.
However, the event was not perfect; students raised a number of critiques upon reflection of their experience.
“If there’s anything I could’ve changed, it would be the amount of people who came and stayed,” reflected Anglin. “The overall turnout didn’t seem to be as much as it would be for other on-campus events, and many people left early or arrived late, and ended up missing some really good performances.”
In addition to the turnout, performers and audience members emphasized the lack of equipment and scheduling. Yang said, “I wish we had more resources there. For example, the pedal for the electric piano wasn’t working at the beginning, and it wouldn’t connect or work. We eventually figured it out, but I do wish they provided things like guitars, more microphones, and more music stands.”
“Typically, the norm with music events is to host sound checks before the event to ensure that your instruments are working, and to ensure that all the materials are there,” explained Soriano, “These are things that usually happen well in advance of the audience getting there. Actually being able to start on time says a lot about the preparedness of a group. That’s something that I think can definitely be approved in the coming years.”
Along with the resources and setup, attenders and performers commented on the venue itself. Although this was the first time Student Council had organized a Jazz Cafe event, there was a similar Jazz Cafe hosted by Instructor in Music Dr. Eric Schultz last Spring. This event was held in the Round Room, rather than the New Dining Hall.
“Although the food was better at this event, the vibes of the round room are superior to me,” noted Soriano. “Whether it be because the round room is full of instruments all around, or because New Dining Hall consists of white walls and no chandeliers - the general ambience of the round room feels much more intimate and close knit. It really captured the audience’s attention and highlighted the performances a lot better than I felt the New Dining Hall did.”
Yang echoed the sentiment, stating, “The smaller round room gives Jazz Cafe a more cozy, welcoming warm vibe.”
Soriano also raised another key issue with the new dining hall from a musical standpoint:“It’s a great venue for something that’s not a music event. Acoustically, it was a very, very poor venue. So I think that’s something that would be helpful to change going forward.”
Gathering her thoughts, Yang concluded, “I think these music-based events would be more successful if Student Council orchestrated them closely with the music department, rather than with clubs.”
Jazz Cafe opened up an opportunity for student musicians to perform with one another. Despite the challenges in the setup of the event as well as the venue of choice, students were able to come together to enjoy their peers’ play and talk. Kyle Kennedy’s remarked, “I think having Jazz cafe as a niche exclusive event that happens only in the winter term would be good so students have something to look forward to.” Suffice to say, the event created mixed opinions, but was generally successful.
Looking to the future, though, Kennedy’s declared, “I hope for it to become an annual event eventually. I would just say for what I would change, first reach out to the music department earlier, make sure that they know way, way ahead of time about the event, and that we hope to have their assistance in providing instruments. Furthermore, I’ll make sure that I get a bigger cleanup crew, and to have more students performing.”
